Monday, September 30, 2013

Welcome to week 3. I hope you are enjoying the book as much as I am. This week we read the chapters "Rapport" and "Ask and Analyze." Did anyone else laugh out loud while reading about Dave's first days of school? I would love to be a fly on the wall in his classroom! Do you have any first day(s) of school practices that you use to connect with your students? Have you found it makes a difference later in the school year when you make an effort to connect with your students early in the school year? And what kinds of opportunities do you give your students to ask questions?

Next week we will read and discuss the chapters "Transformation" and "Enthusiasm."

Monday, September 23, 2013

It's great to see so many familiar names in the blog comments from last week. A special welcome to all the new book club participants. I am so excited about this book and the conversations to come. Please let your colleagues know that it's not too late to participate. Just have them introduce themselves and then jump into the conversation.

This week we're discussing the chapters "Passion" and "Immersion." Thanks to Susie Highley for sharing a couple of questions about passion:

- What parts of the curriculum do you "dread" teaching (like Burgess is not enthused about the railroads or Industrial Revolution)? Have you been able to get past that dread and and focus on your professional or personal passions?

- What are your hobbies or personal passions? Have you found a way to incorporate your personal passion into your classroom?

And what does total immersion in your class look like? Or what do you hope it will look like?

Next week we will read and discuss the chapters "Rapport" and "Ask and Analyze."

Monday, September 16, 2013

Welcome to the Fall 2013 eLearning book group. This week we want to give you a chance to meet each other. As a comment to this post, please share your name, your school and district, and your role there. Also, share what you know about this book or teaching like a "PIRATE." Be ready next Monday to discuss the first two sections of the book, "Passion" and "Immersion." Aside from this book group, if you are interested in connecting with others who are reading and who have read the book, visit Twitter and utilize the Teach Like a PIRATE hashtag, #tlap. Be sure to include our hashtag, #INeLearn, so other Indiana teachers can connect with you.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Congratulations to our the two winners of a trip to the ICE Conference, Brant Moore from Angola Middle School and Ted Beachtold from Eastern Green School Corp. These two gentlemen were randomly chosen from participants of the summer book group. They will be attending the ICE Conference in October and may even get to meet Angela Maiers, the author of Classroom Habitudes. It's not too late to register for the ICE Conference. We hope to see you at the conference and in the next book club beginning Monday, September 16th.